Cuban restaurant replaces Fuddruckers

Dos Cubanos Restaurant has opened in Paramus.

Dos Cubanos, a moderately priced Cuban restaurant, opened about two weeks ago on Route 4 east in Paramus -- in the space where Fuddruckers operated for many years.

The Web site says Dos Cubanos is the largest Cuban restaurant in Bergen County.

The most expensive entree on the menu is paella, a dish from Spain ($16.99).

A whole fried red snapper ($15.99) comes with white rice, black beans and sweet plantains.

As listed on the takeout menu, a traditional Cuban sandwich -- which is made in a heated press or plancha -- is missing sliced pickles and mustard ($8.99).

The restaurant has a liquor license.

The restaurant's sign is free standing.

Dos Cubanos, 282 Route 4 east, Paramus; 201-343-4108.

Web site: Two Cubans

New ramen spot

A new Japanese restaurant, Ramen Setagaya, opened about three weeks ago on Main Street, near Center Avenue, in Fort Lee.

The restaurant -- a BYO -- is open 7 days (201-585-0739). It is a branch of a Manhattan restaurant of the same name.

Ramen Setagaya is around the corner from Batten Ramen, a no-frills, cash-only BYO on Center Avenue that has been serving Japanese noodle soup and other dishes for many years.

Korean cafe closes

Manna, a small Korean restaurant and cafe on Teaneck Road, near Forest Avenue, in Teaneck, appears to have gone out of business.

Manna in Teaneck

Image via Wikipedia

Tired of the usual choices near my Hackensack home, me and a friend stopped for lunch yesterday at Manna, a Korean fusion restaurant in Teaneck. Fusion? Think Korean dumplings served with french fries, a kimchi taco or a bulgogi burger. 

Manna, which serves "modern Asian cuisine and frozen yogurt," hews close to tradition with such basics as bibimbap (rice with vegetables, fried egg and ground beef) and gimbap or kimbap (rice and vegetables rolled in dried seaweed). Many items are served as a complete meal with miso soup, salad, side dishes and water or soda -- $5.99 to $8.99. (Photo: Bibimbap with a raw egg, not at Manna.) 


Manna is family friendly, offering a traditional American breakfast, including pancakes and bagel with cream cheese, and such sandwiches as fried whiting and PB&J.


The casual setting and menu invite both lovers of Korean food and people who have never tried dining on the spicy side. You order and pick up your meal on a tray at the counter, and sit where you like. Only the view is pedestrian -- traffic flying by on Teaneck Road.

 I ordered the bibimbap meal -- hold the ground beef ($7.99). Steamed rice, bean sprouts, vegetables, salad greens and a fried egg came in a steel bowl with a mildly spicy sauce on the side. I also got Korean pickles, more salad, noodles in mayo and seltzer. I asked for kimchi, and received a small dice of radish. With bibimbap, you squirt on the sauce, mix up everything with a spoon and dig in.

A terrific lunch, and I didn't miss the meat. 

Manna, 1168 Teaneck Road, Teaneck; 
201-357-8782. Closed Sundays. Parking in rear.